Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty stands on a small island at the entrance to New York Harbour. She is one of the most recognisable statues in the world, and for over a hundred years she has been the first sight new arrivals see when they reach the United States by ship. She was a gift from France to America to celebrate the 100th birthday of American independence, and she has come to stand for freedom around the world.
- CountryUnited StatesOn Liberty Island, New York Harbour
- Gift fromFranceA friendship gift, dedicated 1886
- Height93 metresFrom ground to torch tip
- Weightapprox. 225 tonnesCopper sheet over an iron frame
- DesignerFrédéric BartholdiSculpted by a French artist
- Inside frameBy Gustave EiffelSame engineer who designed the Eiffel Tower
How tall is she?
From toe to torch the Statue is 93 metres tall, approx. 30 storeys high. Most of that height comes from her pedestal; the statue herself is 46 metres.
What is the Statue of Liberty?
The Statue of Liberty is a giant copper statue of a woman holding a torch above her head and a tablet of laws in her other arm. The tablet is inscribed with the date "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI", which is July 4, 1776, in Roman numerals: the date of American Independence. At her feet lie broken chains, representing freedom from tyranny. Her crown has seven spikes for the seven continents.
A gift from France
The idea of giving the statue to the United States came from a French historian named Edouard de Laboulaye in 1865. He wanted to celebrate the friendship between France and America, and to mark the 100th anniversary of American Independence in 1876. The French paid for the statue itself, and the Americans paid for the giant stone pedestal she stands on.
The statue was sculpted by Frédéric Bartholdi, who modelled the face on his own mother. The iron framework inside her was designed by Gustave Eiffel, the same engineer who later built the Eiffel Tower. The statue was finished in France in 1884, taken apart, shipped to New York in 350 pieces, and put back together on the pedestal. She was officially dedicated on 28 October 1886.
The island and the immigrants
For more than 60 years, between 1892 and 1954, ships full of European immigrants sailed past the Statue of Liberty into New York Harbour. Around 12 million people were processed at the nearby Ellis Island. For most of them, the statue was their first sight of America. The poem inscribed on her pedestal, by Emma Lazarus, contains the famous lines: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
Deeper dive: copper patina, the pedestal funding crisis and conservation
The Statue is built from 31 tonnes of copper sheet, only 2.4 mm thick (about the thickness of two coins), shaped using a technique called repoussé. Hammers were used to shape the copper from behind, then it was attached to an iron framework. The copper started turning green almost immediately, but the full transformation to the famous patina took approx. 20 to 30 years. The green colour is actually a thin protective layer of copper compounds (mainly basic copper sulphate and basic copper carbonate) that slowly form on the copper surface as it reacts with the moisture and carbon dioxide in the air. The patina protects the copper underneath from further corrosion.
The funding of the pedestal nearly sank the whole project. Construction was halted in 1885 when the money ran out and Congress refused to help. The newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer ran a fundraising campaign in his paper, the New York World, promising to print the name of every donor regardless of how small. Over 120,000 Americans donated, most giving less than a dollar, and the pedestal was finally completed in April 1886. This early example of crowdfunding allowed the statue to be officially dedicated on 28 October 1886, six months later. President Grover Cleveland presided over the ceremony.
The torch has been modified several times. The original torch was made of copper sheet with cut-out windows that were supposed to be illuminated from inside, but this turned out to be impractical. Tiffany & Company designed a new torch in 1916 with copper amber glass. By 1985 the torch was so corroded that a major restoration was needed; a new gold-leafed copper torch was installed in 1986 (the original is now in the museum). A bigger restoration in 2011-2012 added a new lift, fire safety measures, and a refurbished pedestal museum. The original 1886 torch is still on display in the new pedestal museum.
The internal framework was designed by Gustave Eiffel, who also built the Eiffel Tower. The country is the United States.